Complications

Echogenic bowel, anyone?

The anatomy ultrasound revealed an echogenic bowel at 18 weeks. I had an amniocentesis 2 weeks ago, but no bleeding with it. The amnio results are normal, chromosome-wise, and we also have a negative Materniti21 for abnormal chromosomes and microdeletions. We did not have an earlier cystic fibrosis screen, because baby is mixed race, but they drew that today along with some infectious screens. Does anybody have experience with this?

My baby had an echogenic bowel at 16 weeks. I had an SCH which actively bled at 12 weeks, so they surmised it may have been baby swallowing blood. How do you know you had no uterine bleeding with your amnio? If even a tiny bit of blood got into your amniotic fluid that could explain it. I really wouldn't worry too much, especially if the echogenic bowel is the only anomaly. In my case I had additional testing and everything came back normal, and by my next ultrasound the bright bowel was gone. I wish I hadn't worried so much over nothing!

I didn't have any overt bleeding, which is what the perinatologist asked about, but the more I think about it, I think I may have had a little bit of internal bleeding. I have had two amnios (one three years ago) and this one seemed more painful than the last, so they may have gone through sightly different tissues or muscles that caused a little bleed inside, which the baby then ingested. They did not spot any other anomolies on the scan, anatomically.

I think this scenario is more likely than Cystic Fibrosis, because my husband is Asian and it's much less common in that population. Nevertheless, I will get the test done to see if I'm a carrier - but he would have to be a carrier, too, for the baby to have it. Infection is also a possibility, but I think toxo is unlikely because my cat is 15 years old and they're apparently only infectious for a brief period of a few weeks. CMV is much more likely, especially since we have a toddler. If the baby has congenital CMV, there's not a whole lot that can be done except monitor the pregnancy and afterwards.

The baby having an anatomical bowel problem is a possibility, but they did do a less comprehensive ultrasound before the amnio, last time, and they didn't mention any bowel abnormality last time. I'm thinking that even if they weren't doing a detailed screen, if they had noticed anything out of the ordinary, that they would have taken a closer look. This popping up in the last couple of weeks seems to point to the amnio, to me.

I'm having every 4 week screenings for growth, now, due to this positive result. I'm absolutely fine with that. We'll see if this bowel issue resolves and if the baby continues to grow normally. Hearing about your result is very reassuring, and I hope I have the same good outcome!

I did extensive research on this while I was waiting for my test results. There was a study done on women that had amnio done and many of the fetuses had echogenic bowel up to a month later due to small amounts of intrauterine bleeding. I know the other possibilities are very scary, but it is likely that the amnio is the cause. Toxo is one of the rarer causes of EB. I agree you should rule out CMV and CF for peace of mind. The cystic fibrosis test is not 100%, since it only tests for the most common mutations. However if you test negative for those it greatly reduces your odds of being a carrier. CMV is a very frightening possibility, but many people already have immunity. I think it is good to find out your status in any case. I learned that I have never been exposed and I am being extra cautious to avoid exposure during my pregnancy.

Another woman on my home board when through a similar scare. In her case the conclusion was also that the baby likely swallowed a little bit of blood. In my research I also read that newer U/S machines can cause the bowel to look brighter than it really is. And I came across info stating a correlation between thin mothers and the appearance of bright bowel. Apparently less 'padding' can lead to a brighter picture. Bottom line, there are several innocuous possibilities so try to relax. I hope you will have some reassuring news soon!

Yes, I certainly hope it's something simple like bleeding from the amnio and not CMV, CF, or another bowel issue. I should have the test results in another week or so, but even if they're all negative, it doesn't really tell us anything. It may rule out a few causes but there are still others that can't be ruled out. We were offered a sequencing test which would not only test for the entire CF gene, but a plethora of about 200 other genetic conditions, as well. I opted not to go for that test at this time because I figured it was overkill. I figured we can always test a little later if things seem to point to more severe abnormalities. Just this one anomaly in isolation is pretty non-specific.

We will have to see if the condition resolves itself over time. Hopefully the next ultrasound will be clean. I'm not terribly skinny, and I have an anterior placenta, so I think there is plenty of padding there, so I don't think it's necessarily a false positive from my body habitus or the machine. Hopefully the simplest answer (the amnio being the cause) is the right answer.

I've posted before about my experience with echogenic bowel but the short version is this... We saw it at my 20 week ultrasound and after a couple more ultrasounds (fortnightly) my LO was diagnosed with imperforate anus. He had surgery a couple of days after birth to make a colostomy and has two more surgeries to go (one to build a hole in his bottom and then the colostomy closure). He has a couple of other issues which all add up to a thing called Vacterl Association. He is doing really well and I don't want to scare you but rather let you know if it turns out to be a bowel condition, I've been there and might be able to help. Good luck, hoping everything is fine with your LO!

I also had an echogenic bowel on my 20 wk u/s with my son. I bled a little bit around wk 6, and thats about all the bleeding i had. I had a negative maternit test, and all the other tests came back negative for me thankfully. However I did end up giving birth at 32 weeks, my water broke at 32 wks exactly, baby boy came at 32.3, he spent 3 wks in the nicu. He's 15 months and totally happy and healthy, just a bit scary at the beginning. The doctors think whatever caused his small bowel obstruction somehow became dislodged and when my water broke it was kinda brownish greenish, bc his built up meconium leaked into my amniotic fluid and my body automatically wanted to get him out. If you wanna talk feel free to email me :)

I had the same thing at my anatomy scan which was at 19 weeks due to elevated AFP. The bright vowels resolved by 21 weeks. I did have blood work for infections and CF. I had a healthy baby girl on 6/15. Still no idea why the bowels looked bright. Good luck to you!

I am currently 28wks and at my 20wk they found an echogenic bowel. I had previously tested neg for being a cf carrier and my NT scan and Quad screen were both low risk. The Dr decided to do a TORCH study to test for a number of possible infections including CMV and Toxo. In my case it came back that I had been exposed to CMV prior to pregnancy so it did not effect this preg. Long story short I went back for a follow level 2 at 25 wks where the bowel had resolved itself. I had asked about a possible blockage and such to which they told me they can easily see when that is an issue so that was most definitely not the case. It had no trace whatsoever by 25 wks so they said it ha probably been residual blood from a SCH I had been dx with at 8wk! It was completely resolved by 12wks and at 20 they found the bright bowel. All that to say if I hadnt had a dating u/s at 8wks we would have never even knwn a SCH was a possible cause for the echogenic bowel... If your amnio was normal it is very likely it is just the baby swallowing blood... Good luck and God bless!

Our baby girl has been diagnosed with a dilated bowel (slightly different). This medical journal article is one of the few things I have found online with decent information. It is pretty easy to follow.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3082356/

Based on this article, echogenic bowel has a pretty good chance of resolving on its own before birth so hopefully that is the case. I was also offered the expanded cf carrier screening but decided due to cost and the fact that I am already 32 weeks there was no point. We will wait until she is born. I did do the maternit21 test last week (expect results this week) but an amnio was not recommended bc of how far I am in this pregnancy and the risk of pre-term labor. So now we wait anxiously and see!

It is definitely hard and a little scary but hopefully everything resolves on its own - I have heard lots of positive stories with that ending so keep hope for that outcome!

I am so sorry, that is very sad. My infection screens were positive for toxoplasmosis, but it appeared to be an old infection. Because the antibody level was high, they wanted an avidity screen to date the infection. The screens have come back preliminarily showing the infection as predating the pregnancy, which is good. I'm sorry yours went the other way and you lost your little one.

I am posting an update in case anyone is researching this issue. Several screening tests were ordered. The CF screen for me was negative, so baby would not inherit the condition. My infection screen was positive for toxoplasmosis and negative for CMV, parvovirus , and HSV. The screen indicated an old infection but they did further avidity testing to verify, which confirmed that the infection took place prior to pregnancy. I returned for a follow up ultrasound at 22 weeks, which showed complete resolution of the echogenic bowel and normal growth. I think the likely cause was bleeding from the amniocentesis. Thank you to everyone who replied and gave me information! You are a wonderful group of ladies.

Hey I'm really happy to hear your baby is doing well with vacterl. My husband is convinced our son has it. I'm due jan 1 and we have a missing left radius and duodenal atresia. What was said to you during pregnancy? Was your baby sent straight to nicu?

We were told the same thing. We haven't got the results for the harmony back yet, but Dr said it's pretty common and not to worry. They will check again in 4 weeks, so we're saying prayers and crossing fingers.

my LO's VACTERL was diagnosed whilst I was pregnant which is extremely rare apparently. He did go straight to NICU and he was put on a drip because he wasn't allowed to eat until he had surgery. He had surgery on day 3 and stayed in for a total of two weeks before we took him home. There are some great Facebook groups you and your husband might be interested in for vacterl and bowel conditions. They're private so you'd have to friend me and I can add you. Also, I'm happy to answer any questions! Vacterl is so difficult because there's such a broad range of birth defects associated with it, my son also had tethered spinal cord (surgery corrected this), two holes in his heart which he outgrew and has a horseshoe kidney which is functioning just fine. Let me know if you want to add me on Facebook or email and I can give you details.

Had my 20 week ultrasound on Monday. Got a call Tuesday morning from a doctor in the office (my doctor is on vacation).. Saying that everything looked good except for a bowels were bright which is called echogenic bowel which can cause the baby to be born abnormally.

My jaw dropped. What? Seriously?

In shock I said ok - the doctor told me she is going to fax the paperwork to a specialty hospital in Toronto. Got off the phone crying - what is this echogenic bowel? Was my first thought... Of course googled everything I could.

I have an appointment to see a specialist on Wednesday for a level 2 ultrasound and consultation. I am really hoping for the best and trying my best to stay positive but seems hard. I am a skinny person with not a lot of belly fat, I'm hoping it was something with the u/s machine. Or hoping the baby just swallowed some fluid or blood. My ips test at 12 weeks came back 1:12,000 for Down syndrome and negative for everything else. So that is keeping me half positive.

The doctors told me my son had an echogenic bowel at 20 weeks and I went back three weeks later and it was gone.

I did all the testing for infections, DS, and even got blood taken to see if me and my partner were carriers of CF. Thank goodness everything came back good. Doctors seem to stress people out unnecessary but it's better to be safe then sorry.

The material on this website is provided for educational purposes only and is not to be used for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, or in place of therapy or medical care. Use of this site is subject to our terms of use and privacy policy

Advertising Notice

This Site and third parties who place advertisements on this Site may collect and use information about your visits to this Site and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like to obtain more information about these advertising practices and to make choices about online behavioral advertising, please click here